Literature of the Hart

Summer is here and we are entering a new season too!  As we now tutor and coach learners from across Europe and Asia as well as the UK, we have launched our new website to help you discover the full range of our latest courses - Hartland Educational Consultancy Services . Our courses now include: Oxbridge preparation English Language GCSE English Literature GCSE & A Level Academic EAL for secondary school students English support for students in higher education EAL for adults Interview preparation & cultural induction for UK schools 11+ and other entrance test preparation Do visit us at Hartland Educational Consultancy Services and explore what we can offer you this summer.

by Jenny Hartland If your native language doesn’t use the definite article (‘the’) or the indefinite article (‘a/an’), then this will present a particular challenge when you start your EAL lessons. At HECS, our EAL tutors understand this, and so we always take care to focus on these little, but important, words. What difference does an article make in a sentence? Well, imagine you wanted to write that you parked your car in the space. But you forgot the article - and suddenly your sentence belonged in a piece of science fiction, where you parked your car in space! Or maybe you were telling someone how you were gardening and removed all the weeds on the earth where you were digging. But you forgot the article and so you were actually claiming to have removed all the weeds on Earth! The little words really do matter! And our EAL tutors know that focusing on the details with our learners is essential. Only then will you achieve genuine proficiency in the English language.  Find out m...

by Michael Hartland As an English tutor I try to practise what I preach.  I write myself and publish my work. This year I launched a new website to promote my poetry, Michael Hartland Poetry -  https://michaelhartlandpoetry.wordpress.com/ . I also love to publish my students' work on this blog, and there are some excellent recent examples to view if you scroll through the posts. If you would like to find out more about tuition to improve your own writing, or the writing of your child, do get in touch . We offer a free introductory session to help you find out more before making any commitment. The poem 'Devon A Light' from my new collection

 by Michael Hartland Violet is in Year 10 and has been reading 'The Time Machine' by H.G.Wells with me to appreciate this intriguing text and to develop her writing.  In this piece of writing, she had to use a deliberately complex vocabulary, as H.G.Wells does, and imagine what happens when the Time Traveller meets the human beings of the future. "A foreign face arose from the blur. Its aghast emotion struck me, it was like it was gaping at an alien apparition. Every movement I took it questioned, like it was looking at me through a microscope.  The familiar distinctions of flesh and blood had vanished, for in this distant future, mankind had alarmingly merged with technology..." You can read the full text here Our ebook But I’m no good at creative writing! is available on Amazon now. We are offering 50% off creative writing group classes over the summer holiday - contact us for a free introductory session to find out more .

Violet is in Year 10 and has been reading 'The Time Machine' by H.G.Wells with me to appreciate this intriguing text and to develop her writing.  In this piece of writing, she had to use a deliberately complex vocabulary, as H.G.Wells does, and imagine what happens when the Time Traveller meets the human beings of the future. Or maybe they are not really human beings any more?! A foreign face arose from the blur. Its aghast emotion struck me, it was like it was gaping at an alien apparition. Every movement I took it questioned, like it was looking at me through a microscope.    The familiar distinctions of flesh and blood had vanished, for in this distant future, mankind had alarmingly merged with technology.   My eyes left the beings gaze, and in the background,a plethora of these unknown animations were ominously wandering, It was like they had no conception of life.     A notable change was the complete absence of a class system. It seem...

by Michael Hartland Many stories begin with the main character leaving home.  As an English tutor, I use this theme to inspire students.  They read great narrative writing from the classics of English literature, and are then given a structure to use for their own creative writing. In Jane Eyre , the heroine is sent to a boarding school and then meets her future husband when she lands her first job as a tutor.  In Great Expectations , the hero’s life is changed when he unexpectedly meets first a convicted criminal on the marshes beyond his village, and is then invited to play at the house of wealthy Miss Havisham. The theme is common in stories from all around the world, and of course it’s a universal experience that is full of potential, adventure, risk and reward. You can read writing by our students in previous posts on this blog. These include an original twist on an encounter in a coffee shop and an 11 chapter mini novel . My ebook But I’m no good at creative writi...